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Hotel industry leaders had called for later closing times than the rest of the UK, where the curfew is at 10pm
Pubs, hotel bars and restaurants will have to close at 23:00 in Northern Ireland under new rules for the hospitality sector.
They will go into effect from midnight on Wednesday.
Stormont ministers gave details of the decision at the assembly on Tuesday.
No alcohol or food will be served after 10:30 p.m. and all patrons must leave before 11 p.m., Prime Minister Arlene Foster said.
He said there could be no “exceptions” to the rule, and that it would apply to weddings and other social events as well. Late licenses will not be allowed.
‘Bypass the pub’
Hotel industry leaders had urged Northern Ireland to close later than the rest of the UK, where it is 10pm.
Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster said the announcement was “another blow to our industry.”
“The industry will lose hours, lose staff and lose live music and it needs to be given a fighting chance,” Neill said.
“A curfew is not ideal, but in the hospitality industry we will do everything we can to make this work, which will hopefully only be a temporary measure.”
He said the measure should be kept under continuous review.
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Pacemaker
Most of the drinks-only pubs in Northern Ireland only opened on 23 September
Neill said his organization had lobbied the government to close at 11:30 p.m., in line with the Republic of Ireland.
“My biggest fear is that they will simply bypass my industry completely,” he said.
“They will bypass the pub and go straight to a house party.”
Ms. Foster said the executive recognized the risk, but emphasized that home gatherings were currently illegal, following new restrictions imposed last week on home visiting.
He stressed that compliance was a “priority” for ministers.
Execution and fines
“We don’t want to go there, we would prefer everyone to work with us, but law enforcement has a role,” he added.
“We will look at the levels of fines that we have.”
The prime minister said she regrets that a time limit had to be imposed, but medical evidence showed that “people who socialize later at night are seen to increase the risk of spreading the virus.”
“People adhere to the rules less strictly in places where they are used to less strict social distancing,” he added.
In Northern Ireland, unlicensed shops and supermarkets can sell alcohol until 11pm on most days. The cut-off time is at 10pm on Sundays.
The executive said he had made the decision to impose a hospitality closing time at 11:00 pm to ensure a “consistent approach.”
The prime minister said the executive is still considering how to deal with beer bikes in the new legislation.
In England, a revision of the 10pm limit has been called for, prompting scenes of crowds forming after closing time in cities like Liverpool and York.
Ms Foster said the Stormont Executive had looked at the experience in other parts of the UK with closing times and hoped it would not be repeated at NI.
“There is an allegation that people will leave the pub and go to a house party, but they can’t go to a supermarket or without a license to buy alcohol after 11pm, so we felt it was a good idea,” he said to the assembly. .
Beer bikes
“We knew it was later in the Republic of Ireland, but we felt that people would not cross the border for such a short period of time.”
There is still confusion about the so-called beer bikes, which operate in parts of Northern Ireland, and whether they will be allowed.
Earlier this month, the executive said the new hospitality restrictions would ban them, but Ms Foster said that had yet to be resolved.
“Beer bikes are a particular problem, we are currently considering how to deal with it,” the prime minister said.
“Officials will contact the operators of those bicycles, but they still need to be dealt with, I hope we can fix it sooner rather than later.”
